What are the differences between BPMN and CMMN?

Question

Although BPMN and CMMN have different symbols, they both seem to represent the activities that happen in a scenario somehow. Are the two standards interchangeable (at least in some situations)? If not, when should I use BPMN / CMMN?

Thank you!

Answer 1

BPMN is good for making models of structured business processes that, despite some variations, share the same structure and can possibly be automated. BPMN can be used for

1. Describing/documenting established business processes.
2. Designing new business processes.
3. Defining automated business processes that can be enacted by a business process engine.

CMMN is good for making "case management" models, which describe semi-structured business processes that cannot be automated.

See also these presentation slides.